Follow this Honda NSX as it journeys from Frankfurt, Germany, east to the Nürburgring nearly 200 kilometers away, an appropriate home-away-from-home for a car that was “designed for the pure enjoyment of driving.”

Will the second-generation NSX stir your soul like the first one? Time will tell, but it's off to a rocky start.

The first Acura (Honda) NSX: A look back

When it began its life in the 1980s as the Honda HP-X (Honda Pininfarina Xperimental) concept, the mid-engine Italian-designed car caused a stir.

The prototype was revealed in February 1989 on the eve of the Chicago auto show and was code-named NS-X. What we did know at the time: The NS-X was a two-seat sports car that weighed less than 2,860 pounds, including 462 pounds of aluminum monocoque, an industry first, powered by a 3.0-liter, four-cam, 24-valve V6 equipped with Honda's now legendary variable valve timing mechanism (VTEC). That also was a first for the States. The engine had a 7,500-rpm redline, while the car boasted a drag coefficient of 0.31 and a top speed close to 170 mph.